


5 Questions John Never Thought He Would Ask Elizabeth

by miera



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: 5 Things, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-27
Updated: 2011-10-27
Packaged: 2017-11-05 19:32:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/410196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miera/pseuds/miera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five questions John never thought he would ask Elizabeth. For Sparktober.</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 Questions John Never Thought He Would Ask Elizabeth

"You watch a reality show about dancing?"

Catching Elizabeth alone anywhere but on her balcony was a rare thing.

Catching her sitting in the lounge late at night watching a tv show someone had clearly recorded and sent from Earth was surprising.

That it was reality tv and people were on stage doing... something that involved gyrating around a lot in a latex costume? Was unreal.

For her part Elizabeth actually flushed. "I find it relaxing, okay?"

Truthfully, plenty of people in Atlantis did stranger things in search of stress relief.

Elizabeth looked at him with her calculating expression. "I'll share my popcorn if you'll keep it secret," she offered.

Popcorn was still relatively hard to get in Atlantis. And, John noticed, the blonde girl on the show was cute.

He sat down on the couch, took a handful of popcorn, and asked, "So who's the blonde?" just to annoy Elizabeth.

*~*~*~*

John finished dressing and turned around when Elizabeth made a frustrated noise. "Do you need help with the corset?"

Elizabeth looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "Can you actually help?"

John studied the brown material that was wrapped around her body. "You just pull on the strings, right? Like a shoelace?"

Elizabeth hesitated a fraction of a second. It was a bit intimate, him helping her dress, but she couldn't go to the party without being in proper local attire. "Don't pull it too tight."

She turned back to facing the wall. They'd both politely turned their backs when they came in here to change. John stepped up behind her and swallowed hard. He hadn't meant this to be anything other than a friendly gesture, but it was impossible not to notice her bare shoulders or the slope of her breasts underneath the material. There was a tunic she would wear over it, but for now he could see a lot more of Elizabeth's skin than he was used to.

There were freckles on her shoulders, scattered across her pale skin. Her hair was beginning to get long, and some of the curls were just above the nape of her neck.

The image flashed through his mind of him leaning down and kissing her there, making her arch into him.

He bit his tongue hard and concentrated on the corset laces, willfully ignoring that he could smell her shampoo and her scent this close.

He gave a final tug at the top of the corset. "Okay?" She nodded so he tied the strings together and then couldn't resist. His fingers skimmed along her back, across her bare shoulder, just once. They both shivered at the contact.

"You're all set." He had to clear his throat, as his voice had gotten rough.

"Thanks." Elizabeth didn't look at him, just pulled the tunic over her head. When she did turn around, her public face was firmly in place. John followed her obediently outside and to the reception in the main hall, pretending to himself that nothing had happened.

For several months after that mission, John had recurring dreams of Elizabeth wearing that corset and nothing else.

*~*~*~*~*

 

"Did you just call me baby?" he asked incredulously.

Elizabeth flushed visibly. Apparently she wasn't as drunk as he'd feared.

Of course, he also had his arms full of her, since she'd stumbled and he'd caught her and neither of them was making a move to separate yet. Ordinarily Elizabeth didn't touch people much, not even him, aside from life-threatening situations, so the fact that she was warm and pliant against him was not a good sign.

It was possible he was a little buzzed himself. The alien moonshine on this planet packed a serious punch. John had only sipped at a tiny bit of the stuff out of politeness.

"I'm sorry, John, I didn't mean..." Elizabeth straightened up, trying to stand on her own. He steadied her, fighting against the powerful urge to tighten his arms again. "That was inappropriate."

"But funny," he said with a grin. She glared, but it was pretty low level on the scale of Elizabeth's glares, so he shrugged. "I certainly never pictured you using that word on anyone but, you know, an actual infant."

They were alone in the room she had been given for the night, so there were no witnesses to Elizabeth slipping her mask, at least. He knew how much appearances mattered to her, though it had taken him a long while to understand it.

His thumb moved idly over her hip, and he didn't miss the tiny tremor that went through her.

 _She's drunk_ , he reminded himself. _She's drunk and you're on a mission and if you make a move and she shoots you down you may never be able to look her in the eye again don't do something that stupid._

He let Elizabeth go and stepped back. That argument was wearing thinner with every time he ended up touching her, or seeing her with her guard down, or she smiled at him like they were sharing something important.

"You okay, then?"

She rubbed her forehead. "I think so. I think I should go to... get some rest."

John put the word "bed" out of his mind entirely and beat a hasty retreat. "Night, Elizabeth."

*~*~*~*~*

 

"What exactly is this?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, John wanted to grab them back and smother them.

Elizabeth - Elizabeth freakin Weir - was half-naked in his bed. By all rights he never should've known her, certainly never had a chance of bedding her. And she's here and they were fooling around and about to have sex again and he had a sinking feeling he just destroyed it with four words.

She hesitated, and the warmth and mischief in her eyes faded away. John really wanted to just let Ronon shoot him right now. "Forget it. Never mind."

He tugged her back into his arms and kissed her urgently. He felt her body yield and she let him drag her into his lap. He was desperate to pretend he'd never spoken, never demanded some sort of official status from Elizabeth when he knew he'd take anything she would give him, no matter the label because he just _wanted her_ so badly.

Elizabeth pulled away, though, her hands on his shoulders. Her face was serious. "I don't know, John." She licked her lips, running her fingers across his skin, tracing the scar on his one arm. "I need a little more time before I can answer that."

He nodded. It was ridiculous. They'd known each other for four years. He'd wanted her for that long, been in love with her for half that time. He didn't care. She never had to say it, never had to tell him how she felt. He knew Elizabeth cared. She wouldn't have been in his bed if she hadn't. The risk to her was too great.

That should've been enough for him. He circled his arms around her and kissed her slowly, passionately, until she was melting against him. He had this, he didn't need to hear it aloud.

But he wanted to anyway.

*~*~*~*~*

"Did you just ask me to marry you?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said exasperated. In his defense, when she came into his quarters "to talk" he was preparing for the break-up speech. The news about them being spotted kissing in the infirmary (while not drugged or under any alien influences) was on its way back to Earth by now. At the least he figured Elizabeth would give him the "we have to cool it for a while" speech.

He expected anything but this.

"Oh."

She winced and so did he. Damn it, this was not how he pictured this happening. Despite the many things about their relationship that had defied convention, he wanted to ask her. Largely because the night a couple months ago when he realized he was thinking about Elizabeth as a permanent part of his life had startled him. He'd been sure after his divorce he'd never tie himself down like that again. And given the danger they lived in, it was probably stupid to do it.

As he was standing there like an idiot Elizabeth began to close down. Her eyes lost their sparkle and she folded her arms across her chest. "Well. I guess that answers that."

"No!" His hand shot out and he grabbed her before she could bolt from the room. "Of course I want to marry you, Elizabeth." The light returned to her face but he bit his lip. "I just... I need to know this isn't some political thing to keep the IOA off our backs."

He hated himself for asking, but he'd learned a lot from her over the years, and this was the kind of thing she would think of to protect them both.

"It's not," she told him with conviction. "I love you, and I'm sick of hiding and pretending that’s not true." She huffed out a sigh. "The IOA is always going to be looking for reasons to come after both of us. I have no idea what they'll even say to this. I _don't care_. This is more important to me, John."

For a moment he just stared at her. He had never questioned that their relationship had to function with their jobs, that there were a lot of times one or both of them would have to be doing something else for the good of the city. It was just the way things were.

She was showing him another future, for the second time in his life. This one even more unbelievable than the Atlantis expedition.

There was nothing else to say, so he lifted Elizabeth up in his arms and kissed her. Eventually she pulled away to breathe and grinned at him. "So was that a yes?"


End file.
